Michael W. Higgins - Professional

Professional

Higgins also did graduate work in Theology at the University of St. Michael's College (Toronto), later teaching Religious Studies there before moving to St. Jerome's College in Waterloo, Ontario (1982–2006). From 1989 to 1995 he served as Associate Dean, before becoming Academic Dean and Vice-President (1995–1999) and President and Vice-Chancellor (1999–2006). In 2006 Higgins became President and Vice-Chancellor, as well as Professor of English and Religious Studies at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick. In August 2009, eighteen months after a controversial lockout (before the faculty union had taken a strike vote) and subsequent strike, Higgins announced his resignation as President of St. Thomas, effective December 31, 2009. Four days later, on January 4, 2010, he commenced as a Visiting Senior Executive in Residence at Sacred Heart University (SHU). Since July 1, 2010, Higgins has served as Vice President for SHU's Mission and Catholic Identity department. In this role Higgins is responsible for leading initiatives that preserve, promote and integrate Catholic mission, vision and values throughout the University. He directs such programs at the Spidlik Center for Ecumenical Understanding as well as the new and developing Institute for Vatican II Studies.

He has been a monthly columnist for The Toronto Star (1986–2006), as well as a commentator for CBC Television, Commonweal, and The Globe and Mail.

In 2009, Higgins spoke out about the lifting of the excommunications of the bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X, saying bishop Richard Williamson must apologize for his negationist views or be expelled from the Roman Catholic Church. As a radio documentarian for the CBC, he has prepared more than 60 one-hour scripts for Ideas, Celebration, and Testament, and has been a regular contributor to Morningside, This Morning, Sunday Edition, as well as to CTV's Canada AM and to TV Ontario's Studio 2 and Agenda. Several of Higgins' programmes have been nominated and short-listed for public-broadcasting awards. Higgins was the main consultant for John McGreevy's six-hour television series, Sir Peter Ustinov's 'Inside the Vatican', and for John Bailey's film version of Ron Hansen's novel, Mariette in Ecstasy. He has also served as a consultant for CBC's Man Alive.

Higgins was working on a CBC documentary series, when, in April 2010, it was announced that he would be serve as biographer of Henri J.M. Nouwen, the only biographical account of Nouwen's life and works to be authorized by Nouwen's Legacy Trust.

In November 2010, Higgins released Suffer the Children Unto Me: An Open Inquiry into the Clerical Sex Abuse Scandal, which was co-authored with Peter Kavanagh. The book deals with the Roman Catholic Church's sexual abuse crisis and the media. The authors describe it as "an exploration of the modern sexual abuse scandal from a number of perspectives". The authors go beyond simply chronicling the issue and its players. They also carefully scrutinize how the media have both reported on and influenced the crisis. In June 2011 The Catholic Journalist, the newspaper of the Catholic Press Association of the United States & Canada, awarded the book first place in their category for gender issues. With the award the CPA stated that "The gift of this book is its clear, story-telling language and its richly nuanced entry into deeply troubling but necessary questions that involve media coverage, social mores, systemic and cultural factors, legal procedures, theological understandings, and institutional demands."